[These are books, products, apps, and other tools mentioned in my book Make a Living Writing Books for Kids]
If you purchased or borrowed the book, I would so much appreciate an honest review on Amazon. That will help the book get seen by more people, who can then use the reviews to decide if the book might be right for them. Thank you!
Introduction
Section 1: Mindset
Kate Messner’s “Picture Book Math” post
Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s list of links to many annual awards
Martin Sheen episode of the On Being podcast
Section 2: Income Streams
Trade Books
Five Lessons from 100 Published Picture Book Authors (info on advances and agents)
Find an indie bookstore in your area
Nonfiction Books for the Educational Market
Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Educational Markets for Children’s Writers on Evelyn Christensen’s website
Writing for the Educational Market blog
National Council of Nonprofits
Assessment Passages
Other Freelance Writing
Writer’s Digest Magazine and Books
Editorial Freelancers Association
Professional Writers Association
“How To Make Your First $100 as a Freelance Writer”
“How To Launch Your Freelance Writing Career”
School Visits and Other Events for Kids
Alexis O’Neill’s School Visit Experts website
Toastmasters (A number of writer, educator, and business friends swear by it!)
Speaking to Educators
Teaching or Critiquing Writers
Teachable – a platform for offering online courses
Editing
PEN (Professional Editors Network) is invaluable if you hope to have editing as one of your income streams.
EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association)
Book editor listings on Jane Friedman’s website and Joanna Penn’s website
Copyediting
Chicago Manual of Style online or in print
AP (Associated Press) Stylebook online or in print
PEN (Professional Editors Network)
EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association)
Section 3: Preparing for Your Career
Laura’s annual income reports (2007-2018)
SCBWI’s The Book (free with SCBWI membership)
Here are some of my business cards (front above back) from over the years:
Section 4: 16 Habits for Success
CamScanner app
Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA, part of NCTE)
Section 5: Organizing Your Business
MyLifeOrganized – the project management software I currently use
Snippet of submissions database
Sample Monthly Block
Section 6: Networking and Promotion
Here are just a few of examples of the promotional giveaways or conversation starters I’ve used (plus the companies where they were ordered from. There have been many notecards and rack cards ordered from Vistaprint, beautiful chocolate rocks ordered from Amazon, earrings and cookies made by Etsy artists, phone cases and laptop skins created by my husband through various companies…the possibilities are endless. Just make sure you have the artist’s permission to use book images on promotional materials.
SCBWI Regions (members only)
WordPress.org (self-hosted, meaning you must own a domain to put it on and pay hosting fees)
WordPress.com (free, but limitations omn what you can do)
Writing Prompts
Example of an online shareable
Example of a mini-movie made in response to a request
Watch some Readers Theater on YouTube
Alphabet Forest at the Minnesota State Fair
Shrinking Violets blog (no longer active)
PW Children’s Bookshelf (Look for small signup box on this page)
Section 7: Business Skills
Sample school visit contract (and more) from Alexis O’Neill
Quicken accounting software
A snippet of my Quicken records
TurboTax, another accounting program
PW Children’s Bookshelf (Look for small signup box on this page)
For a More Creative Brain, Take Breaks
Section 8: Tips on…
Association of Authors’ Representatives
PW Children’s Bookshelf (Look for small signup box on this page)
Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Little Buffalo Law (Aimee Bissonette)
Institute of Children’s Literature
Highlights Foundation Workshops
Picture Book Marathon is not active at this time
Advanced Google search on “insurance for freelance writers”
Authors Guild insurance options and articles
Appendix A
Read Laura’s “How Much Money Does a Writer Make?” post that corresponds to the business plan in the appendix.
Disclosure: Laura Purdie Salas is a participant in the IndieBound Affiliate Program and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase anything off links on this page, she will earn a small commission (about 4%, usually). This does not change your purchase price! Happy writing!